Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina

Based on the enduring Hans Christian Andersen story, this hand-drawn, animated version by the Ireland-based Sullivan Bluth Studios features a charming vocal performance by Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid) and songs by Barry Manilow, who also wrote the music for El Paso native and 2017 PCFF guest Don Bluth and Gary Goldman’s The Pebble and the Penguin. No bigger than a thumb, Thumbelina falls in love with the fairy Prince Cornelius, only to be separated and exploited on her journey to find him. Despite the continuing popularity of Andersen’s fairy tale, the movie was a box-office bust, its release delayed almost a year after its original distributor dropped it due to Don Bluth Entertainment’s filing for bankruptcy. — Doug Pullen